Here Are This Year’s Winners of The Sitka Diverge8 Photo Contest

   01.16.20

Here Are This Year’s Winners of The Sitka Diverge8 Photo Contest

After pouring over nearly 30,000 photo submissions, the judges for Sitka’s ‘Diverge8 photo contest’ have selected this year’s winners.

Voting was no easy task this go around, as Sitka received its usual allotment of breathtaking photos and some of the most creative submissions in the history of the contest. In the video below, you get to be a fly on the wall while a team of judges – who all play a key role at Sitka Gear – sift through some of the contest’s submissions and decide on winners for each category.

There were 15 finalists selected from all eligible submissions, who all received a special edition Sitka cap and $500 in Sitka Gear. From there, each category winner is voted on by the judges, who clearly take this very seriously.

Below are the winners for each category, plus the People’s Choice Award winner:

DIVERGE8 Waterfowl and People’s Choice Winner

Bill Kercher @BillKercher

 

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You raised her from a pup to be an amazing retriever. Season after season she brought the birds back, never complaining. She is now 14 years old and still has the drive, but her body just won’t cooperate. It shows as her back legs give out on occasion. So you pick her up and carry her to shore, to get her one last retrieve of a green head, that means more to her than any bird prior. @dleewhitehead carrying his girl Josie out of the pond. • • • • #diverge8 #sitkastoke #sitkagear #momarsh #builtforthewild #yeti #sickforit #outdoorphotography #canon #canonphotography #ducksunlimited #cabelas #wildfowlmagazine #duckhunting #labphotooftheday #gunnerkennels #powercalls #bossshotshells #bossdogs #friendshipopportunities #onxhunt #unmuzzled

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If you own (or have owned) a hunting dog, this photo of Bill Kercher carrying his dog Josie to “get her one last retrieve” will resonate with you on an entirely different frequency. It was a front-runner in the contest immediately after being posted back at the beginning of the 2019 waterfowl season, and this feels like the appropriate way to honor the ‘Ole Girl!

Prize Pack: $1300 in gear including:

SITKA GEAR // $1000
B & H Photo // $250
Catalog Spotlight
DIVERGE Swag // $50

DIVERGE8 Big Game Winner

Bianca Germain @biancagermain

Prize Pack: $8,000 in gear including:

Hunting Photog Membership // $2050
SITKA Gear // $1500
New Prime Bow // $1000
Leupold Binos // $750
YETI Tundra160 // $680
Leupold Range Finder // $450
Limited Edition Orange Nock2It Release // $200

DIVERGE8 Whitetail Winner

Dwayne Bratcher @DwayneBratcher

Prize Pack: $8,000 in gear including:

Hunting Photog Membership // $2050
SITKA Gear // $1500
2020 Mathews Bow // $1100
Leupold Range Finder // $450
Lone Wolf Stand // $250
YETI Load Out Box // $249
LaCrosse Boots // $200

It’s always such a pleasure seeing these raw moments captured in the most breathtaking photos, so we hope Sitka keeps this thing running next year! Keep an eye out for more details, and we’ll try to keep you informed about next year’s contest when we hear something.

Happy hunting, y’all!

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